For many children the Senior School may seem a long way off, for others it is just around the corner and this can often feel like a huge stepping stone; but within the Junior School there are many aspects in place to help prepare children for their smooth learning journey into the Senior School.
With a through school, we have the advantage of having the expertise of specialist teachers and this allows children as early as Reception to begin to build positive relationships with these teachers in Modern Foreign Languages, Music, PE and Computer Science. As children progress into the older classes of the Junior school this also includes Science and for many of these subjects they will also transition to using the Art Room, IT Suite and Science Laboratories.
At Webber, the Year 6 children have an advantage when they enter Year 7 because they will have experienced all subjects being taught by specialist senior teachers and this will include developing and understanding new teaching styles that are used frequently within Senior lessons. This makes Year 6 mini Year 7s still with the Junior support and guidance in place. An example of this is within English, where there is greater emphasis placed on using a text, annotating, analysing and evaluating the book for figurative language, drawing on previous learning and delving deeper into opinions and viewpoints. As a precursor to this aspect, our Year 5 class begins to develop these skills in Term 3 to help prepare for the transition to Year 6 and the journey beyond.
Within the Junior School, children are given opportunities to learn more about the Senior School by interacting with Prefects either in the classroom, on the playground, Extra Curricular Activities or through trips such as PGL or Bushcraft where Year 6 have the opportunity to talk and work practically with Year 7 children. This provides a brilliant insight into the beginnings of the Senior School.
None of this is possible without the solid learning, reflection and consolidation of subjects throughout the Junior School that are the building blocks that support the learning that takes place further up the school. This is also the case with more pastoral and organizational elements; whether this be frequent reading at home and school, using Home Learning Diaries and Google Classroom to record Home Learning, the Home Learning expectations gradually increasing that helps to develop their own individual time management. Children develop the use of DIRT (Direct Independent Reflection Time) to help them evaluate their own learning and become a critical but constructive friend within the feedback sessions of their learning. With the nurturing approach provided by the staff it helps the children understand that they can be open and discuss concerns with any member of the Webber staff.
All of this combined allows the children to have the tools and growth mindset to be ready for any challenges they may face in the Senior School and become engaged lifelong learners.
Mr Simon Jeacock
Year 5 Class Teacher and SENCO